Now, will the feds come after Intel?

The New York Times has a more complete account than the initial AP story of N.Y. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s antitrust suit against Intel.

As the Times notes:

The New York attorney general’s suit is the first formal antitrust action against Intel by any government agency in the United States in more than a decade. The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating Intel since 2008, but has not begun formal proceedings against the company.

The New York move increases the chances that the F.T.C. will take action against Intel, according to a person who was familiar with the state’s investigation but was not authorized to discuss it. Mr. Cuomo’s staff, this person said, regularly communicates and cooperates with the commission’s staff.

“These are separate investigations, but it would be very surprising for New York State to go off on its own without being fairly confident the F.T.C. would pursue Intel as well,” the person said.

At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Mr. Cuomo said: “We have been cooperating with the F.T.C. We have a good, productive dialogue on this matter.”

A spokeswoman for the trade commission, Claudia Bourne Farrell, would not comment beyond saying that the commission’s investigation was continuing.

There have long been suggestions, even during George W. Bush’s administration, that the FTC, prompted by European and South Korean antitrust moves, would get tougher with Intel. In fact, an FTC investigation — with which Intel says it is cooperating — was launched back in 2008. With a more gimlet-eyed Obama administration, an FTC move appears more likely. Which means more work for Intel’s lawyers.